The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press:
The Times leads with the opening of the trial of a man allegedly involved in the murder of BOV messenger Alphonse Ferriggi in San Gwann almost nine years ago. It also reports a statement by the Infrastructure Ministry saying Enemalta expects to make heavy financial losses.
The Malta Independent, like The Times, carries a front page picture of the severe weather in Paris and London. In its main story, is says the Opposition yesterday objected to a procedural motion to regulate the timetable of the House of Representatives.
The same story is taken up by In-Nazzjon, which says that the Acting Speaker rejected Opposition arguments that the procedural motion violated Standing Orders. In-Nazzjon also reports that €9.2 million are to be allocated for three heritage sites – St Paul Catacombs, Ggantija and Tarxien temples. Most of the funding will come from EU structural funds.
l-orizzont says Opposition resources spokesman Joe Mizzi has filed a judicial protest arguing that the regulator had not safeguarded consumers’ interest when the new utility tariffs were established.
The Press in Britain
The Sun looks at both the chaos and the fun caused by heavy snowfalls yesterday and warns Britain is bracing itself for further disruption.
The Guardian reports that up to 3,000 schools were closed and many non-urgent hospital operations cancelled.
In what The Independent says was a 'day to remember', it reports that air traffic was severely disrupted with all flights at London-Heathrow airport temporarily grounded and the London underground and bus services came to a near standstill.
As six million workers took the day off, The Mirror calculates the cost to businesses at £1.2 billion.
The Daily Mail has a picture of a snowy scene in London - and says that it could be the norm for several days to come.
According to the Daily Express, some are predicting that the freezing conditions could last into the middle of February.
And elsewhere…
The European media focuses on the snow and rain storms in Western Europe which have left at least five people dead and disrupted ground and air traffic. In Italy, three people were killed by the cold and torrential rainstorms. Two brother climbers died in Wales. The storms also hit France, Belgium and Spain, closing roads and rail tracks, and spread as far south as Morocco.
La Tribune de Geneve says the UN Human Rights Council has criticised Germany for problems related to the integration of immigrant children and the well-being of asylum seekers. Severe criticism came from countries like Iran, Cuba or Russia, who themselves stand accused of major human rights violations. More than 40 nations participated in period review of human rights related issues.
Le Parisien reports President Sarkozy met Palestinian President Abbas and new US Mideast envoy George Mitchell in Paris continued efforts to find lasting solutions for Gaza.
Börzen-Zeitung says Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has wrapped up his tour of Europe with a call for strong and effective stimulus plans to boost economies hit by the global financial crisis.
The Africa Monitor reports that in his inaugural address as the new chairman of the African Union, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has vowed to pursue his vision of a United States of Africa. Col Gaddafi was elected by the heads of state of the 53-member union behind closed doors at a summit in Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Observer quotes UN chief Ban Ki-moon saying President Robert Mugabe has agreed to allow a top-level UN team to visit Zimbabwe to find ways of curbing a cholera epidemic and a hunger crisis.
Kathemerini reports that riot police fired tear gas at Greek farmers to prevent them from driving tractors to Athens as part of a protest demanding government financial help.
The Irish Times says the EU has denied reports it intends reeling in recreational fishing by imposing quotas on all sea anglers in a bid to protect endangered species. The European Commission’s office insisted the plan was closing a loop-hole and was aimed only at pleasure boat fishermen in the open sea and not those in row boats or on shore.
Jersey Evening Post reports that a shipwreck that is thought to contain more than a billion dollars of gold has been found at the bottom of the English Channel near the Channel Islands. HMS Victory, the legendary warship that was the predecessor to Lord Nelson's Victory, sank in a storm in 1744.
The International Herald Tribune says a British widow has been given the right to use sperm taken from the body of her dead husband without his written consent. The mother-of-one received permission to have another child after her husband died in 2007. She is expected to travel abroad for fertility treatment as it is illegal to use sperm without consent in the UK.
The Lancet says hopes have been raised that diabetes drugs could be developed as treatments for Alzheimer's disease.
USA Today says the octuplets, six boys and two girls, born to a southern California woman a week ago have become the longest-surviving in US history.
The Daily Sentinel reports that a man, armed only with a pocket knife, stabbed an American bulldog to death as it was attacking a 77-year-old woman in her front yard in Iowa.